As I walked out one evening, Walking down Bristol Street, The crowds upon the pavement Were fields of harvest wheat. And down by the brimming river I heard a lover sing Under an arch of the railway: "Love has no ending. "I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Afica meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street. "I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky. "The years shall run like rabbits, For in my arms I hold The Flower of the Ages, And the first love of the world." But all the clocks in the city Began to whirr and chime: "O let not Time deceive you You cannot conquer Time. "In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is, Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss. "In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away, And time will have his fancy To-morrow or to-day. "Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow; Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver's brilliant bow. "O plunge your hands in water Plunge them up to the wrist; Stare, stare in the basin And wonder what you've missed." "The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed, And the crack in the tea-cup opens A lane to the land of the dead. "Where the beggars raffle the banknotes And the Giant is enchanting to Jack, And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer And Jill goes down on her back." "O look, look in the mirror, O look in your distress; Life remains a blessing Although you cannot bless." "O stand, stand at the window As the tears scald and start; You shall love your crooked neighbor With your crooked heart." It was late, late in the evening The lovers they were gone; The clocks had ceased their chiming, And the deep river ran on.
E. Lutyens sets stanzas 1-4, 6, 8-10, 13-15
N. Rorem sets stanzas 1-4, 6, 8, 10-11, 14-15
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First published in New Statesman and Nation, January 1938Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), "Song" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "One evening", c1968 [ tenor and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey David Gibbs (b. 1940), "As I walked out one evening" [ low voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "As I walked out one evening", 1992, first performed 1995 [ baritone and piano ], from Death's Echo -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Agnes) Elisabeth Lutyens (1906 - 1983), "As I walked out one evening", published 1942, stanzas 1-4,6,8-10,13-15 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "As I Walked Out One Evening", 1997, published 1999, stanzas 1-4,6,8,10-11,14-15, from Evidence of Things Not Seen, no. 24 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 60
Word count: 336